ER!

So our sweet baby Cooper was due for his one year old vaccine. Garrett always gives the vaccines to his hound dogs so we figured we would try to do it ourselves rather than take him to the vet. Garrett gave it to him last night at about 8pm. Garrett and I both didn't have to work the next day so we decided we would stay up late and watch a movie together. About half way through the movie Cooper threw up. We just thought he had eaten too much grass and stuff outside that day and maybe the vaccine was making him a little nausous. A few minutes later Garrett tried to give him a cracker and he didn't want it. When Cooper doesn't want food you know somethings up because he loves food, especially human food! We finished the movie and he was acting fine. Right before we were ready to go to bed i noticed he had a small bump by his eye and one by his lip. i tried to feel it and he wouldn't even let me touch him. Soon after that he started scratching his face nonstop, and i mean nonstop. He was trying to scratch it on the carpet, the wall, the curtains, anything he could. I gave him some childrens benadryl because i had a feeling he was having an allergic reaction and a vet had told me to do that a long time ago when he has a bump on his head. We decided to lay down and try to go to bed but he wouldn't stop scratching and he started panting and breathing heavy. A few minutes later i turned on the light and his face had dime size lumps all over it and he could barely open his eyes because they were all swollen. Well, if you know me i FREAKED out! Cooper is like our child so i started bawling. I told Garrett we had to call a vet so i called the ones in Tooele while he got online and researched the 24 hour vets. Of course none of them in Tooele answered their phones so we called a 24 hour animal hospital in salt lake and they said we had to bring him in because they have had dogs die from that before! You can imagine how i am after hearing that. So we jump in the car in pajamas and everything and go. It was raining so hard and it was the LONGEST drive of my life! The hospital was all the way in Cottonwood and he was short of breath the whole time there. By the time we got there his face didn't have the lumps anymore but it was so swollen, like a balloon! He was not happy about being at the vet and them sticking a thermometer up his bum! The vet said it is definately an allergic reaction to the vaccine and he mostly sees this in little dogs. he said it was good that i gave him the benadryl because that could have stopped some of the swelling and if he had swelling by his neck he could have died. They gave him some steroid shots and medicine to help and we went home. When we got home it was about 3:30am. We were all exhausted so we laid down and Cooper still couldn't stop scratching and panting. Garrett and i both couldn't sleep because he was so miserable. I laid by him and just rubbed his back for a while. I felt so bad for him because he was so tired and he would lay down and try to sleep but he couldn't because he was so short of breath. I called the vet around 5:00am and told them the swelling had gone down but he was still scratching and panting. They told me it can take a while for the medicine to kick in so we just needed to wait it out. I would have done anything to take the pain away from him. i was crying because he was so miserable. Garrett finally went to sleep because he had to work night shift tonight. i let Cooper outside and he went and rolled in the grass and was soaking wet. I think it must have helped him with the itchiness. He came back in and he FINALLY fell asleep in the laundry room. I went and laid down but i kept getting up and checking on him. At 9:00am i had to give him some medicine so i gave it to him and then we all were sound asleep until about 2:00pm! UHHHGGGGGG!!! I am so glad that my baby is okay! Maybe this was heavenly fathers way of preparing us for kids! lol. I am so glad i didn't have to work today. Cooper is doing better and all he wanted to do when he woke up was play and eat! I am so glad i have my sweet dog! He is the best dog in the world and we love him so much! I have gotten like 4 hours of sleep in the last 40 hours so GOODNIGHT!!!